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New Year's Book Meme

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:07:50 GMT

New year, time to revive the Dreamwidth?

via muccamukk

Grab the nearest book.

Turn to page 126

The 6th full sentence is your life in 2026.

From A Phở Love Story by Loan Le:
"It's very... you."

Hopefully that means a year of being true to individual self, no matter how strange or unconventional that may seem? From the first few days of 2026 and how they've gone so far, I'd say that's pretty accurate, and hopefully it brings personal fulfillment.

All the best for 2026, everyone!

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experiments in tea #29: the dragon slayer (tea and the gang)

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 22:42:27 GMT

I'm skipping way ahead with this one because I'm drinking it right now, at the right temperature because I have a temperature controlled kettle, and it's gooooood.

Tea and the Gang have their blends as characters for the most part (the new ones aren't yet branded, including the Strawberry Daiquiri I had a while back.) This one's descriptions is Jasmine Dragon Pearls, which are basically instead of tea as loose leaves, the green tea is curled up into little balls and infused in jasmine. Jasmine tea is a love, so I had high hopes for this one.

Also, I just showed it to my mother and that was a nice bonding moment because she just went back to her home country for a holiday, and she bought some jasmine dragon pearls before she left to give to a Buddhist teacher she knew.

Ingredients: Green tea infused in jasmine flowers

Brewing notes: 80°C for 3 mins on the first cup.

Tasting notes:
Verdict: I said last time that jasmine tea was the only green tea I'd found that was more than the sum of its parts. That's still true, and I still adore it - it's so soothing.
Lessons Learned: Jasmine tea still very good.

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experiments in tea #26: lemon sherbet (bird & blend)

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 21:41:53 GMT

You know what, I'll do as many as I can to catch up whilst I remember. I will spare people the long reading post spam after this one, but check out the experiments in tea tag for all the postings.

This one looks very similar to one I haven't tried yet, called Strawberry Lemonade, so much so that I finished this one and then went back to my stash and went 'wait, didn't I have this one already? Wasn't the Ginger Beer the only one I got a double of?' It was, my brain messed with me.

Ingredients: Apple Pieces, Rosehip, Lemongrass, Orange Peel, Calendula Petals, Natural Flavouring
Do not remember how I brewed this. It was a while ago. I feel like I did it hot several times.

Tasting notes:
Verdict: It sure tastes like lemon sherbet. The lemongrass really came through, and is the defining flavour. I'm not sure I liked it that much, but that's probably a palate difference.
Lessons Learned: Also more general, but... do these posts way earlier because memory is sometimes not great and now I'm sitting here shrugging when asked to remember details.

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experiments in tea #25: cococabana coola (bird & blend)

Sun, 04 Dec 2022 21:36:13 GMT

It has been... a while since I actually drank this tea, so we get things through the haze of memory (I really should start doing them when I drink them, lol. I was good about it until I wasn't! But I want to keep a record, at least.)

Ingredients: Apple Pieces, Hibiscus, Rosehip, Air-Dried Pineapple (Pineapple, Sugar), Orange Peel, Natural Flavouring

Tasting notes: I think I drank this one hot once and then cold brewed the rest of it. Added a bit of sugar both times.
Verdict: T'was perfectly fine. Didn't hate it, didn't love it, but mostly fine.
Lessons Learned: Most fruit teas are good enough, and some of them are stronger than others, but most of them are basically just fine. Also, I'm getting used to the tart taste of hibiscus.

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the ember still smoulders (genshin impact, 6.5k, hurt/comfort)

Sun, 27 Nov 2022 11:54:46 GMT

the ember still smoulders (6547 words) by scientistsinistral
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Diluc & Kaeya (Genshin Impact), Crepus & Diluc (Genshin Impact)
Characters: Kaeya (Genshin Impact), Diluc (Genshin Impact), Crepus (Genshin Impact)
Additional Tags: Near Death Experiences, Hurt/Comfort, Good Parent Crepus (Genshin Impact), Diluc Needs a Hug (Genshin Impact), (and his father eventually gives him one), Unconsciousness, Major Character Injury, Limbo, Canon-Typical Violence, Diluc and Kaeya are Adopted Siblings (Genshin Impact), Diluc Cares About Kaeya (Genshin Impact), Protective Diluc (Genshin Impact), precursor to a diluc & kaeya reconciliation
Series: Part 1 of after all this time, you still care
Summary:

As he's checking through a 'cleared' Domain, Diluc stumbles upon Kaeya, disarmed of his weapon, and an Abyss Herald that's got the upper hand and is about to deal him a blow he can't defend against.

Diluc puts himself in the path of the blow, bearing it so Kaeya won't have to, even if it lands him at death's door in the process.

Whilst he's under, he meets his father, and he gets the chance to talk about all the things he's wanted to since he was eighteen.

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she who brings the sun (genshin impact, 4000 words, tartaglia/lumine & (original) newborn baby)

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 23:31:18 GMT

she who brings the sun (3976 words) by scientistsinistral
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Tartaglia | Childe/Ying | Lumine (Genshin Impact), Tartaglia | Childe (Genshin Impact) & Original Child Character(s)
Characters: Tartaglia | Childe (Genshin Impact), Ying | Lumine (Genshin Impact), Original Child Character(s)
Additional Tags: Parents Tartaglia | Childe and Ying | Lumine (Genshin Impact), Newborn Children, Domestic Fluff, Soft Tartaglia | Childe (Genshin Impact), Tartaglia | Childe Loves Tartaglia | Childe's Family (Genshin Impact)
Summary:

Tartaglia sits beside Lumine as he holds his newborn daughter for the first time.
He promptly becomes an emotional puddle on the floor, and comes to some realisations about how his life is going to be from now on.

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experiments in tea #24: japanese cherry garden (yumchaa)

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 17:55:06 GMT

Ingredients: Sencha green tea, natural cherry oil, flavouring.

Brewing notes
80 degrees, only brewed this once before leaving it at my parents' house because I forgot to put it into my moving boxes when I packed up for school again. Will probably finish the packet when I go back home in a few weeks because Reasons.

(edit, 21/11/2022 - finished the packet. once brewed it at 90 degrees by accident. was not good.)

Tasting notes:
Verdict: Mostly green tea, with that subtle hit of cherry flavour. I like cherry, so I was morre interested in that than the green, but made for pleasant drinking.
Lessons Learned: I like cherry things. Also, check temperature for greens, because burned greens are not yummy.

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warmth (genshin impact, 3k words, m, kamisato ayato/thoma)

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 23:47:16 GMT

warmth (3013 words) by scientistsinistral
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Kamisato Ayato/Thoma
Characters: Kamisato Ayato, Thoma (Genshin Impact)
Additional Tags: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Old Age, Old Married Couple, Cuddling & Snuggling, Feeding, (non sexual ayato's just old and wants thoma to literally feed him his breakfast), rated m because ayato also kept making nsfw references
Summary:

As Ayato grows old, he finds there seems nothing more comforting than a warm bowl of breakfast made specially by an equally warm and tender husband.

(or, two old men having a moment in the morning, before the day begins and they can just be together.)

I haven't uploaded publicly to AO3 in a month and it's because all my fic efforts are hidden for exchanges. But I wanted my first Genshin fic to mark for my 100 fandom and 100 ships challenges to be for Ayato/Thoma, because I do adore them.

Rated M because my brain's hung up on the last thing I wrote, and old man!Ayato kept making innuendos when he talked on page.

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experiments in tea #23: regent's park (yumchaa)

Wed, 28 Sep 2022 20:57:59 GMT

Nothing wrong with this one, just nothing that made it especially noteworthy.

Ingredients:Green tea, white tea, papaya pieces, pineapple pieces, strawberries, raspberries, rose petals, mallow blossoms, flavouring.

It is notable, however, that this is the first tea that includes a white tea, though definitely more green. Which is making me think I made a mistake and might have overdone it for the white during brewing, but it didn't actually taste too bad.

Whites are the most unprocessed of the teas, being just plucked from the tea plant and dried. As such, they have a much more delicate flavour, and should be brewed at about 70 degrees.

Brewing notes
I brewed this five times at 80 degrees each time, because I know that I don't like cold greens.

Tasting notes:
Verdict:
The papaya in this was the strongest flavour. It was green tea, and then papaya combined with the pineapple. It was sweet, I'll give it that, but it's another case of it almost being two waves of flavour, which was fine, I just wouldn't go for it again.

Lessons Learned:
Read the ingredients and see if brewing should be changed based on what you find there instead of ignoring it?

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experiments in tea #22: strawberry and kiwi sorbet (yumchaa)

Sun, 25 Sep 2022 11:43:02 GMT

This one was a case of fruit tisanes actually having some flavour!

Ingredients: Strawberry pieces, kiwi pieces, apple pieces, hibiscus, rose hip, orange, lemon, flavouring.

Brewing notes
I cold brewed this first, actually, using up most of the pack to get a good flavour. Because of the large pieces, I could just put it in a covered jug with water and then strain out the fruit pieces when it came to drink.

I also hot brewed it at 100 degrees to see if that would be nice as well.

Tasting notes:
Verdict: Either way, it was quite nice - still smelled sweeter than it tasted, so I ended up putting sugar in both tests, which didn't really work with the cold brew since it didn't dissolve and just sat at the bottom of the cup. A subdued but still present fruit flavour, with both the strawberry and kiwi being tastable.

Lessons Learned: Give fruit tisanes a shot both ways?

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experiments in tea #21: mango sunrise (yumchaa)

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 15:47:37 GMT

This one took me four attempts to get right, and I didn't really like it by the end, either.

This was one I actually tried a couple of years ago - and didn't like because I was wanting something more like a mango smoothie and you're never gonna get that from a tea, aha. So, now that I'm more accustomed and accept the fact that it's a green, I decided to give it another go.

Ingredients: Sencha green tea, dried mango, sunflowers, flavouring.

I brewed this at 80 degrees three times, and didn't really like it that much - mostly because I had to wait until it cooled down enough, then waited too long, and then once it was cool it didn't taste nice.. The first one was quite nice, actually, because I think I got more of the mango in there, and it just wasn't as strong enough on the second and third cups. On the fourth cup, it still wasn't, but getting it at a sort of nice sipping temperature made me like it more.

Tasting notes:
Verdict: Eh. It's more than a usual green, and the mango is there, but it wasn't strong enough for my taste,
Lessons Learned: Play with temperatures if it doesn't work, even outside of the recommended standard temperatures for a type of tea. Also, greens are more sipping drinks rather than drink the whole thing in gulps drinks. Stop trying to do that. Stick to an everyday blend with lots of milk if you want something smooth to chug.

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wednesday watches

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 22:02:02 GMT

This was the week I got a bit bored with the films, and started watching more television series instead. Which isn't a bad thing! It's nice to switch things up.

( Yuri!! on Ice )

( Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood )

( I Medici )

( Pinocchio (1940) )

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sky-change on the horizon (pyre, 3900 words, fikani shang & pamitha theyn)

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 13:19:35 GMT

sky-change upon the horizon (3906 words) by scientistsinistral
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Pyre (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: FIkani Shang & Pamitha Theyn
Characters: Pamitha Theyn, Fikani Shang
Additional Tags: One Shot, Conversations, in the middle of woods, heavily discussed & mentioned Fikani/Hedwyn, Liberated Pamitha, pre-ending, they don't yet know which ending
Summary:

When a recently liberated Pamitha Theyn drifts further north than she usually goes, the Highwing Remnants send Fikani on a reconaissance mission to figure out just what she's up to.

She finds herself sitting across a table from Pamitha in the middle of nowhere. The conversation between them that ensues gives her some surprises regarding a certain exiled lover.

Apparently I'm in a constant contenst to see which of my fics is the most niche - this one's quite up there, I think! It was fun writing two hot Harp ladies, though - I hope to write them interacting more in future.

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swift strike (hades, 300 words, hermes-centric)

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 13:08:57 GMT

swift strike (288 words) by scientistsinistral
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Hermes (Hades Video Game)
Additional Tags: Character Study
Summary:

your attack is faster.
Hermes is known for his speed - it comes handy in a pinch - so he'd like for his cousin to have the same blessing.

Apparently 'god of swiftness' means writing the shortest one yet. What can I say; Hermes doesn't seem to be one to mince his words.

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dear fffx creator (letter)

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 17:07:01 GMT

Completed September 2nd.
Dear FFFX creator,

Thank you so much for creating for me! Whilst I have a letter to prompt some ideas in case you'd like them (I know one of my favourite pastimes is scrolling through and bookmarking requests on the AO3 Firebase App), as long as you avoid my DNWs I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever you create!

I do have a preference for shorter fics, so very much willing to go for the 2x 5k option for all fandoms, but it is up to your discretion as to how long you want to go.

( General Likes )

( Smut Likes )

( General DNWs )

( Smut DNWs )

( Downton Abbey )

( Genshin Impact )

( Hades )

( Legend of Fei )

( Pyre )

( Remains of the Day )

( The Pacific )

( The Untamed )

( Yuri on Ice!! )
Thanks for making it to the end! I hope you enjoy creating, and I'm sure I'll enjoy reading it when it's done.

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experiments in tea #20: red velvet (yumchaa)

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 16:58:48 GMT

This one took me three attempts to get right.
Ingredients: Sri Lankan black tea, white chocolate, cacao peel, vanilla pieces, dried beetroot, pomegranate flowers, sunflowers, marigold flowers, flavouring (contains dairy).

The first time I brewed it straight and then fell asleep. It doesn't taste very nice when cold.
Despite this, the next time I brewed it at 80 degrees and then added half a cup of milk, which tasted alright, but from the colour I could tell it wasn't strong enough.
The third time, brewed it straight at 100 degrees, added a little bit of milk and sugar, and that was very nice. Kinda like a three bears situation.

Tasting notes:
Verdict: Once I did get it right, it was very nice. Could taste the richness of the black, with the sweetness and taste of the cocoa underneath.

Lessons Learned: Don't substitute the temperature for blacks, 100 degrees and milk is the way to go because if you do 80, it won't infuse strong enough.

You know what, I'm nixing the 'Would I drink it again?' category, because let's be real, I have so much tea that most things are not getting repeat bought unless they're literal nectar. If I call it nice, assume I've probably finished the packet.

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experiments in tea interlude: pg tips, raspberry infusion & peppermint infusion

Sat, 06 Aug 2022 21:49:09 GMT

It's been a while! This is because I have been slacking off on trying tea because I was sick, then went on a cruise where I didn't have my teas. On that cruise, I drank a) a lot of PG Tips everday blend in single serve, which I know I like with lots of milk and a little sugar for sweetness, but b) also tried two other single serves that they had on the ship: the raspberry and peppermint infusions.

I finished neither cup. The peppermint was underwhelming compared to the mint from the gunpowder mint I'd already had, and the raspberry was just a hint of flavour in hot water and I didn't like it enough to keep drinking. So... not ones I'd go for again, and I'll just stick with my everyday teabags.

(Though my father drunk several cups of their chamomile infusion and really liked it, so each to their own.)

In addition, experiments in tea posts will probably be less formal from now on; it's a lot less fun trying new teas when I know I effectively have to write a full report on them afterwards, but I still want to write something down so I know what to order again when I run out of tea because my memory is terrible and I have a lot of teas to try. Also, image hosting takes up too much storage space to do it for every single one. But... probably more like this in future.

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wednesday watches

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 20:33:03 GMT

It's been a couple of weeks! I went on holiday with no Internet, then immediately came home and got sick again, so haven't felt like posting. But I've watched a few things in that time!

Tolkien (film)
Been meaning to watch this one for a while, since it came out a few years ago, so when I saw it on the TV on holiday, I spent an afternoon watching it. I really enjoyed the parts about Tolkien's youth and friendship with the TCBS - the group had a wonderful brotherhood dynamic. Less impressed by the romance and the war scenes - which is odd, because I normally really like war films.

The True History of the Kelly Gang (film)
Tolkien set me on a Nicholas Hoult kick, because this always happens when an actor is attractive. So next, I watched The True History of the Kelly Gang, which I'd seen around after getting into 1917 but never seen. It... was a bit too gritty for my liking, which I should have known from the outset, but I do understand the complexity and the appeal.

Rebel in the Rye
Another Nicholas Hoult film, this one is a biopic of the life of JD Salinger, the reclusive author famous for his novel Catcher in the Rye. I studied that book at age 14 in school, and like most books studied in school, I didn't really like it. (Also the fact that that book is the epitome of the teenage male experience, or so I am told by every boy I've ever talked to about it, and I was in a class of 14/15 year old girls who just thought Holden was a twat.)

The biopic itself was... subpar? It has its moments, and it also has its long stretches where nothing much happened and I found myself drifting away. It was interesting to know a bit more about Salinger's life, though my opinion of the man himself from that is also rather subpar.

Equals (2015 film)
The last of the Nicholas Hoult Watching (for this week, because I do have Mad Max: Fury Road queued up to watch at some point.) This film is about a futuristic world where no one has emotions, and having emotions is seen as a disease and treated in stages like cancer, and people who have it tend to be isolated and ostracized and eventually taken to a facility where they're 'treated'/secluded. This was 2015, but after COVID I'm mostly just laughing at the whole premise, because it's a) overdone and b) seems off given the seven years since it released. But they didn't have the foresight back then, so...

It's about a guy who falls in love with a girl he works with despite everything, and how they have to deal with that. Which is fine, if the chemistry wasn't very eh. The aesthetics of the film were also the greyest, whitest thing I've ever seen, which works thematically but does not make for interesting watching.

There's also letterboxd review that says that they made Kristen Stewart play a M/F relationship whilst giving her the queerest haircut, which isn't wrong.

Medici: Masters of Florence - 1x06
Continuing with this! More political drama in Florence, and relationship drama for the Medicis. At this point, I'm mostly watching for the pretty costumes. And Piero & Lucrezia, the former of which is just Trying His Best Even Though He Fails 99% of the Time, and the latter of whom got trapped in a tricky situation with her mother-in-law because of her father-in-law which she didn't deserve because it wasn't her fault at all.

Still gonna finish the series though, beacuse the aesthetics are still gorgeous and I want to watch the other two seasons after this.

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experiments in tea #19: raspberry vanilla (yumchaa)

Sat, 23 Jul 2022 16:12:03 GMT

experiments in tea #19: raspberry vanilla

( Raspberry Vanilla )
( Brewing notes )
( Tasting notes )

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drunken strike (hades, 600 words, dionysus-centric)

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 19:22:09 GMT

drunken strike (658 words) by scientistsinistral
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Dionysus (Hades Video Game)
Additional Tags: Character Study, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, the god of wine probably drinks a bit too much of it than is healthy, and he too must suffer the hangovers
Summary:

your attack inflicts hangover.
There's one major drawback with wine, and that's how much it hurts in the morning.

Warnings for discussions of alcohol in this one (it comes with the territory, with Dionysus.)
Dionysus is always a fun one to write - he's a lot more free spirited than a lot of the other Olympians.

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experiments in tea #18: toast & jam (taylors of harrogate yorkshire tea)

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 15:28:28 GMT

experiments in tea #18: toast and jam (taylors of harrogate yorkshire tea)
An unexpected interruption from the loose leaf, but these flavoured teas from Yorkshire tea, especially the biscuit brew, came recommended to me by friends so I thought I'd get them when they were on sale at the local supermarket and try them. I have a sweet tooth, so I went for the jam first (also apparently the other one is better, so I'd rather go up than down.

( Toast and Jam )
( Brewing notes )
( Tasting notes )

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sunshine challenge 1 (amber) - in sickness and in health (tears of themis, 3700 words, artem/rosa)

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 15:20:58 GMT

in sickness and in health (3718 words) by scientistsinistral
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 未定事件簿 | Tears of Themis (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Main Character | Qiangwei | Rosa/Zuo Ran | Artem Wing
Characters: Main Character | Qiangwei | Rosa (Tears of Themis), Zuo Ran | Artem Wing
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Common Cold, Sick Character, Married Couple, Domestic, Caretaking, spoilers for 'in sickness and in health' sr card, and artem's personal story chapter 4
Summary:

Rosa starts feeling a little under the weather, which progresses to a full blown cough and cold as the day progresses.
Artem, her husband, is right there to take care of her.

The last of the backposting for sunshine_challenge. I took the amber prompt:

Amber was believed by the Vikings to be the tears of Freyja, their goddess of love and beauty. It symbolises cleansing, healing, protection, renewal; some have believed it to symbolise a resting place for departed souls due to the preserved insects in the resin. It has been used as a talisman for courage and confidence. Amber is one of the birthstones of Taurus as it's known to increase good luck, as well as helping Taurus personalities in their practical ventures.

And took 'healing' as long as the last amebr thing I saw a lot of just before starting this fic, which was cough syrup. This is basically what I wished I had last month when I was sick; very wish fulfilmenty.

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sunshine challenge 2 (rose quartz) - rosestone hearts (hades, 3400 words, aphrodite & zagreus)

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 20:24:17 GMT

rosestone hearts (3429 words) by scientistsinistral
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Aphrodite & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Characters: Aphrodite (Hades Video Game), Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Additional Tags: advice from your goddess of love cousin, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, thanzag is only discussed, as in zagreus is slacking on proposing but very in love, and aphrodite is like 'someone needs a good nudge'
Summary:

Aphrodite decides Zagreus is taking too much time to propose, so she gives him a gift and tells him a story to spur him into action.

I've been playing Hades a lot recently after picking it up again and loving the rich story and lore. When I saw the description for the second prompt, 'Rose Quartz' for sunshine_challenge:

Soft pink in color, Rose Quartz has been a popular stone since as far back as 800-600 BCE. Today, as in the past, it’s most associated with love, compassion, and healing in all its forms both towards oneself and others. In the Greek myths it’s mentioned at least twice: once where Eros is said to have brought it to man to inspire love, and again in the story of Aphrodite and Adonis where it came to represent love triumphant. It’s a stone of beauty and sentiment and will likely be favored for years to come.

I just had to write a little thing about Aphrodite and her powers of love - especially how she is already invested in Zagreus' love life in the canon game, no matter who or how many people he decides to romance.

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experiments in tea #17: gunpowder mint (yumchaa)

Sun, 10 Jul 2022 20:11:17 GMT

Another green to soothe ourselves a bit after that smoky Russian Caravan. I like gunpowder teas, and I love mint, so this should be good.

( Gunpowder Mint )
( Brewing notes )
( Tasting notes )

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experiments in tea #16: russian caravan (yumchaa)

Sat, 09 Jul 2022 21:21:45 GMT

We're back to the blacks. It's been a while.

( Russian Caravan )
( Brewing notes )
( Tasting notes )

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